Strikeforce champ 'Cyborg' open to Rousey but wary of quick move to 135 pounds

SAN DIEGO – Strikeforce female featherweight champion Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos (11-1 MMA, 5-0 SF) might not be completely out of potential opponents at 145 pounds, but the line of volunteers doesn’t exactly reach around the block.

Sixteen-second victories, like the one Santos notched over Hiroko Yamanaka at Saturday’s “Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Masvidal” event in San Diego, tend to have that effect.

But there is one name that just won’t go away: Ronda Rousey (4-0 MMA, 2-0 SF).

“I’m ready for a fight with her,” Santos told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). “I think she talks too much, but she can keep training, and when she’s ready, I’m ready.”

In some ways, it’s incredible that Rousey’s name is even being linked with the seemingly unstoppable Santos. After all, Rousey was competing in the amateur ranks as recently as January, whereas Santos boasts experience fighting on network television.

But Rousey is a rare breed in the female ranks: an Olympic medalist with a penchant for sharp-tongued trashtalking. To make it even more interesting, Rousey has already expressed a desire to fight Santos in the near future.

There’s just one major hurdle. Rousey, who has cut minimal weight in past fights at 145 pounds, is planning on competing at 135 pounds for her next outing. The judoka plans on first taking that belt from current champ Miesha Tate then setting her sights on the Brazilian wrecking machine.

Of course, if Rousey finds her body is best suited for 135 pounds, there’s no guarantee she’d ever move back up to face “Cyborg,” so Santos’ best shot at silencing the brash Californian might be to make her way down to 135 pounds.

The muscular Santos, who doesn’t appear to carry many easy-to-lose pounds, admits it would be a difficult drop but one that’s not entirely impossible.

“I’m going to put in a valiant effort to try and make 135,” Santos said through in interpreter. “Maybe if I can make a catchweight and fight at 140 first and slowly make my way down to 135, but I’m going to put in a good effort to get down to 135.”

Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker also seemed to suggest a potential matchup between the knockout artist and the submission ace is still more fantasy than reality.

“Ronda’s name keeps coming up, but I think Ronda is going to fight at 135 for a bit,” Coker said. “But Ronda has expressed interest in fighting at 145 and fighting for the title at some point.”

In the meantime, Coker and Strikeforce matchmaker Sean Shelby will do their best to find Santos suitable competition. UFC president Dana White has long criticized the lack of depth in the women’s division, and Santos’ utter dominance of her class certainly isn’t helping anyone perceive female featherweights as much more than a one-woman show. That said, Santos has a way of bringing a crowd to its feet, and Strikeforce wants to continue to focus on developing the female game.

“I think all the fights that the media wants to see, the fans want to see, Showtime would like to see and we would like to see, I think all those fights will happen; just be patient,” Coker said. “Sean is out there scouring the earth, and we’re going to find some opponents for ‘Cyborg.’ Truly, she’s the Mike Tyson of female MMA.”